Related

HIGHLIGHTS

Ram Vilas Paswan said stricter laws will be passed to ensure good food quality.

He said the ministry was working to rule out adulteration in milk.

He said new laws will punish film stars for endorsing misleading products.

The government will soon bring in stringent laws to curb misleading advertisements and adulteration to guard the consumer's interest, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Thursday. Speaking at the 'Mail Today Food Summit 2016' in New Delhi, the minister expressed confidence t

The government will soon bring in stringent laws to curb misleading advertisements and adulteration to guard the consumer's interest, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Thursday.

Speaking at the 'Mail Today Food Summit 2016' in New Delhi, the minister expressed confidence that the new Consumer Protection Bill, 2015, will be passed in the next session of Parliament. The new bill replaces the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, which is seen as an inefficient legislation, out of step with the new market dynamics and multi-layered delivery chains.

PEOPLE BELIEVE STARS, SAYS PASWAN

The minister said the new law aims at providing punishment for celebrities, who as brand ambassadors endorse misleading advertisements. "When Salman Khan says he takes Revital or when Amitabh Bachchan endorses something, people do take him seriously. So we are not saying that do not involve sports or film stars in advertising your products, but do it responsibly with verifiable facts. The celebrity must also understand product claims before signing up," he said.

The new Bill also deals with adulteration. "Abroad and in the western world, people cannot imagine that there can be food adulteration. Here in India, we cannot imagine food without adulteration," Paswan said, drawing laughter from the audience.

The new bill has provisions to regulate e-commerce and direct selling, besides setting up of a regulator. It will also increase the monetary jurisdiction limits of consumer courts. While for district consumer courts it will go up to `1 crore from `20 lakh, for states it would be up to `10 crore and for the national, above `10 crore.

TRYING TO IMPROVE FOOD QUALITY

Besides, it will have provisions for mediation, which is absent in the current law. To a question, Paswan said, the ministry was looking into milk adulteration aware of the fact that it's a basic necessity. "Delhiites anyway do not get fresh air or water to breathe. The poor suffer the most. For this, the ministry is trying hard to match up with global quality standards and BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) is being upgraded," Paswan said, On the pilferage and rotting of foodgrains in open godowns, Paswan said the government was creating state-of-the-art silos of 100 lakh tonne capacity.

"The spoilage rate in silos is only 0.4 per cent. It will reduce corruption and improve shelf life of grains. We are also installing CCTVs in the silos premises and introducing GPS-fitted trucks to track their movements," he said.

India gives the maximum amount of subsidy on foodgrains at the rate of `1,30,000 crore, and a buffer stock of 20 lakh tonnes so far has been created. "We are also making efforts to continuously improve the quality of food provided through central schemes like PDS (Public Distribution System), Anganwadi, Mid-Day Meal, Antyodaya, etc.," the minister said.

There are plans to popularise Indian food through participation in programmes like the recently held 'Brazil World Food Programme' as well. The minister said his department has also extended regional consumer helplines from 14 to 60 and developed a mobile application to lodge complaints.

Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director (Publishing) of the India Today Group, in his welcome address, appreciated the role of Paswan as one of the most experienced ministers in the Narendra Modi's government. The event was attended by bureaucrats and prominent traders from the food industry.

Do You Like This Story? Awesome! Now share the story Too bad. Tell us what you didn't like in the comments